Advertising is a very important component of most successful businesses. Through advertising a business may reach new and old customers, and retain current customers. One popular method of advertising is the distribution of magnetic advertising that may be placed in conspicuous and convenient locations, such as doors, desks, whiteboards, and appliances. The magnetic advertising helps a business to distinguish itself from competitors by providing important information to a customer about the business in a way that is highly visible and easily accessible. In addition, the magnets provide a utility, such as allowing users to affix papers or pictures to a magnetic receptive surface.
However, one important item associated with any advertising is cost. For some businesses it is important to efficiently manage the cost of advertising. For example, many small businesses or individuals have limited means to expend on advertising. For these businesses, minimizing the cost associated with advertising may be a significant consideration.
Although tradition magnetic advertisements (i.e., ad specialty magnets) are a relatively inexpensive when compared to other forms of advertising, a business must order and wait for production of the ad specialty magnetic with business specific information. In addition, if any information changes once the ad specialty magnets are produced, the advertisements may be rendered obsolete. As a result, the traditional user may order a smaller number of advertisements, and reorder magnets as necessary.
Although this approach may reduce the costs associated with replacing the ad specialty magnets, it does not eliminate the possibility of advertisements with obsolete information and it may result in shortages of magnets (e.g., due to unexpected increases in business activity). Moreover, the cost per unit magnet increases with smaller order sizes since traditional magnetic advertisements require significant setup costs related to printing customized information on the magnets by the ad specialty magnet supplier. These costs are primarily fixed.
Therefore, for the above and other reasons, new methods and forms of magnetic advertisements are needed to supplement traditional magnetic advertisements.